a medal is not enough

i am extremely anti war , however , i'm also extremely anti the way our society treats returning soldiers ... i believe they should receive more assistance when they return to civillian life .. seargent Deacon Cutterham recieved a medal this week for picking up and throwing a live enemy grenade .. his brave action prevented the death/injury of himself and others ... so they gave him a lump of metal to pin to his chest ... i think that servicepeople who do outstanding things should be rewarded with free university ..post service ' or training in their chosen field etc ... others were mentioned in the news report ... including aircraft engineer Michelle Ping who shielded a fallen soldier from enemy fire with her own body while she administerdd first aid ...she was mentioned in dispatches .... i believe that is merely a gesture that falls woefully short of what she should be entitled to .

Yes, we treat real men and women like s*** but our worthless politicians get the royalty treatment. This just ain't right.

As a member of the military, I can understand split loyalties. I was that way once I found out when I found out what was going on in Vietnam, which was mainly that the people didn't care. They were exhausted and knew that both the North and South Vietnamese leaders were corrupt, (because they were both some degree of socialist, but that's for another thread). Medals and everyday saluting and all the other military bs I didn't like but what are you gonna do. Most medals are automatic except for the very highest ones.

What I really despise are the pacifists in disguise. True pacifists aren't on my s*** list because they are, for the most part, courageous (if stupid) and stand on principle. It's the "there's gotta be a better way" crowd, which is code for cowardice. They don't want to fight, even though they believe in the cause, and so many righteous causes get caught up in anti-war rhetoric which leads to more cowardice for those unwilling to stand up for something that would 'offend' their friends.

All this leads to a totally bs attitude to war where we're supposed to not be a bully and pull our punches--thus dragging out a war and getting more military AND civilians killed in the process.

Anybody's got a "better way", I'm first in line to hear it. It just better not have anything to do with surrendering our freedom, our sovereignty or the principle of the quickest victory possible with the fewest casualties that achieves the goals stated at the outset.

I might be wrong on this but don't servicemen get certain benefits even after leaving the forces?

I think giving away money for valor in the field cheapens the honor. I expect that to most servicemen and women, getting a medal for gallantry means more than a check. You can't buy a Service Cross.

And jmo, they get benefits but you don't get more benefits for having a Silver Star or something.

Thought as much.

It was just what the OP said about how he dislikes the way returning soldiers are treated, I thought they got some alright benefits and are generally treated quite well.

People generally like war heroes don't they?

People generally like war heroes, yeah... but not nearly as much for an unpopular war. Soldiers returning to the US from Vietnam - a war where public perception of soldiers was a bunch of murdering thugs torching and destroying the countryside - were often spit on. Soldiers returning from Normandy were treated like gods.

Anyway, no one likes paying higher taxes. And it would take much higher taxes to significantly increase the benefits former soldiers get.

I would prefer higher taxes for better benefits for military personal than higher taxes for half the crap we pay taxes on.

Sorry but me paying for my PM to attend a hockey game is not as important as ensuring someone coming back from war has top quality medical treatment and help they need.

Yes and no on benefits I could bring up a thousand stories were they our their families did not get all that was coming to them.The VA may not tell you of certain benefits. Many think they do this because of budgets. You have to do the research yourself or have some one else do it to figure out what you have earned

I believe that bronze star I know that Silver Star and the Medal of Honor does earn you 10% more in retirement pay. Medal of Honor winners also get 1200 extra a month. All three get plates for free for life. there are other benefits for them but not many.

When my dad was in the Army he did an apprenticeship in engineering. Times were different, it was national service so he was in from the age of 16 if he did not already have an apprenticeship.

It would be nice if "cannon fodder" could come out and do something other than security work though. But then if you really are not academically minded what is the point of sending them to university?

Lets take a look at the numbers. link [militaryreporter.net]


Educational Attainment by Veteran Status

"Educational attainment varies by veteran status and period of service. About the same proportion of veterans and nonveterans were college graduates in 2009, 27.1 and 27.2 percent, respectively. Gulf War-era I veterans and World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam-era veterans were more likely to be college graduates than were Gulf War-era II veterans, reflecting the younger age profile of recent veterans. In 2009, nearly half of Gulf War-era II veterans had some college or an associate degree, compared with nearly 30 percent of nonveterans. Fewer than 2 percent of recent veterans had not completed high school, compared with about 14 percent of nonveterans."

My uncle served for 12 years in the Paras - the British Parachute Regiment. He also served 3 of those years in 'something else', lol. He always says "medals are just a metal disc". Most real soldiers don't give a flying f*** about medals, lol.

Your Uncle clearly never got a medal then.

Military personnel get a pension that depends on how long they served and their rank at the end of service. (Officers get more than your average grunt in the mud) Medal of Honor recipients receive a monthly check for more than a thousand dollars in addition to their pension.

(However the medal is frequently awarded posthumously so the hero actually never gets anything but a nice flag.)

False Presumption, thy name is Geoffrey.